Michigan sophomore point guard Trey Burke has been on a tear this season, and it has teammates, coaches and the opposition in awe. AP photo

ANN ARBOR -- In the middle of answering a question Thursday, Trey Burke let slip something most college basketball fans assumed was just a myth at this point.

"We're still humans off the court," Burke said.

Off the court, maybe.

On the court? When discussing Burke, that's been questionable so far this season.

Michigan's dynamic 6-foot, 190-pound point guard hasn't only been the best floor leader in the Big Ten through 14 games, he's arguably been the best in America.

He returned to Michigan last spring with the intent of competing for a national championship, but he never mentioned anything about an attempt to put together one of the best seasons by a point guard in program history.

"When Trey got it going in the first couple minutes (of Michigan's win at Northwestern on Thursday), I almost caught myself out there just watching," Michigan freshman Nik Stauskas said. "Oh my God, this guy.

"This guy's unbelievable."

Burke's 23-point, 5-assist, 4-steal shredding of Northwestern was just another brick in the wall of what has been a staggering 14-game stretch to open the season.

He's third in the Big Ten in scoring at 18.1 points per game, he's fifth in the nation in assists with 101 (7.2 per game), he's shooting 53.8 percent from the floor, 40.9 percent from 3 and 74.4 percent from the line.

He's only turning it over 1.9 times per night, and he's averaging 1.4 steals per game.

In his last nine games, Burke has 67 assists against 10 turnovers.

Which is completely absurd.

"There’s not one thing you can take away from him," Northwestern point guard Dave Sobolewski said after Thursday's game. "He can do everything.”

And, on top of that, his team's 14-0 with an average margin of victory at 22.8 points -- unbeaten, unchallenged and unharmed almost exclusively because Burke hasn't allowed Michigan to rest for a single moment.

"It's really a joy to watch," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "There are some times where I just sit back and watch the growth of this young man, in so many ways.

"He's got a presence out there and a great ability to know when he can score and when he can find other people."

On a team full of elite-level talent, full of hard workers and full of pure skill -- Burke's basically the best at everything. He practices harder than anyone, he competes with more intensity than everyone and his will to win at this point is basically unmatched.

He's not Michigan's captain, but he's the team's unquestioned leader. As evidenced Thursday when the Wolverines were up 72-52 midway through the second half against Northwestern, and Burke was on the court, fully animated, because Stauskas missed an assignment.

And the Wolverines were up 20.

"We're obviously lucky to have him on our team," junior Jordan Morgan said. "We're glad he plays for us."